Book of the Guardian 3: The Last Mission (8 page)

"Thank you, Captain," John replied and put an armored hand on the man's shoulder in gratitude.

"Ell-tee, some of the civilians have volunteered to help with the wounded. As soon as the upper floors are clear, we need to move north," John said.

"First and second squads are already in the lobby of that building. They're sticking together, and working their way up. No wounded yet," the Ell-tee replied.

"Understood, keep them together until the rest of us can come play too," John ordered. "This is a fucking nightmare."

––––––––

T
he proof that these had not been normal Tammerain troops lay before him. John looked out at what was left of the city of Sanctuary on the planet Haven. Even after the destruction of their capitol ships, the smaller ship dove into the atmosphere to kill as many humans as they could before they were destroyed themselves.

There had been no reason for it; just the wholesale slaughter of innocents. Of the Tammerain forces that had attacked, none of them survived. To the last being they fought with mindless abandon, killing anyone and everyone they could see. The thing that bothered John the most about it was that there had been no reason for it. The battle was over, and they had lost, so why had they done this? It made no sense.

"John, Mark wants us back on Centauri," Chloe said to him softly, and lightly touched his arm.

He had been standing there staring out at the destruction, tears falling freely down his cheeks. When she interrupted him, he almost rounded on her for disturbing him. "They counted on us, Chloe. They trusted us, and we let them down."

"I know love, I feel the same way," Chloe replied. "Come on, we have to go now."

He let her lead him back to the
Hades
. The destruction had been so bad that Captain Stilts had set the destroyer down as close to the city as she could so her Marines and medics could render what aide they could. The fleet was handling the rescue and aide operations now, and the four small destroyers had been recalled back to the Capitol world.

John was oblivious to the salutes from soldiers and sailors alike that had been working around him while he stood vigil. John had put on his armor and joined the Marines that had run from the destroyer to engage the Tammerain troops that made it to the surface. He led the platoon into the heart of the enemy and there they killed every Tammerain butcher they could find. He was still in his armor, standing guard over the aide station since the platoon had returned. He had refused refreshment and just stood, weapon at the ready.

Chloe nodded to the Captain, as she passed the woman on the way to the quarters John had been assigned. The Captain wiped her own tears from her eyes and turned back to her duty, after everything was said and done, that's all a soldier really had at the end of the long days.

––––––––

I
n his quarters, Chloe got them both out of their armor and stood naked outside the small shower compartment and washed him. This battle had been hard on him. It was at times like this that she worried about losing him. This was the real threat to the guardians, carrying the cost of all the battles and all the death. It had been almost two hundred years since they had dealt with something this bad, and John had taken it hard back then, too.

He looked up at her. "I'll be fine, Chloe. You know that, I just need time to..."

She almost started crying again. She hated to see him like this. To the rest of the Kingdom, the Temporal Guard were ageless, fearless, and unswerving in their duty to protect the human race. It was a rare thing to see a Guard reduced like this. John was Chloe's strength. If he were to retire she would too because living without him would be too painful.

He sighed and gently took her hands. "Shh, love. I'll be fine. I'm not going to retire anytime soon. Our people still need us, even if we failed a few of them."

"Bullshit, Marine!" Mark's voice was heard in the small room. "You didn't fail anyone! In point of fact, you saved a great many lives!"

"You weren't there, Mark. You didn't watch those fuckers slaughter those people, you didn't hear their cries and pleas for help!" John said. You didn't hear a mother begging the Tammerain soldiers to not kill her child."

"No John, I wasn't there. You were," Mark said. "Because you were there, those animals were put down before they could kill more people. You stopped them. Yes, they made it to the planet, and started killing innocents. But you know as well as I do, that is something most Tammerain will not do. Gabby believes they were some type of fanatical temple guard that followed the traders here from that planet. Nothing they did since the moment of their arrival was typical of normal Tammerain military."

"So? I still failed those people on Haven! I let those animals get too close and people died!" John said yelling at Mark.

"You stopped religious fanatics from slaughtering an entire fucking planet! Damn it, John, yes they got to the planet and did a lot of damage, but you're not seeing the bigger picture here; that planet is still there, and ninety-nine percent of its population is still alive because you were there. If you hadn't been, that planet would be dead, and that fleet would be on the way to do the same to another world!" Mark countered.

"No, the Fourth Russian would have contained them, or held them long enough for more of our ships to arrive to deal with them," John said as he got out of the shower, pushed Chloe in, and he began to wash her. "Mark, the fifty-four thousand people in and around Sanctuary that had no idea what was coming; those people that believed we would keep them safe, it's those people I let down."

"John, you're the oldest living soldier in our military. You're also the oldest human still alive. You, more than anyone else, should know that in any military confrontation that takes place in the vicinity of population always results in collateral damage. Not 'never', not 'sometimes', but always! As soon as the Tammerain fleet took up orbit around that planet, it became a forgone conclusion that someone on that planet was going to die as a result.

"Your actions, as well as the actions of the other Guardians, helped to limit that damage. You did all you could have done, John. The simple fact is that there was nothing, nothing else you could have done to prevent this outcome. If you turn around right now, go back to Haven, pick anyone in the aide station or the city of Sanctuary and ask them if they believe you are responsible for the deaths and destruction there, what would they say? I honestly don't believe you will find one person that would blame you," Mark replied.

"While I was down there, I did get a chance to speak to some of the people," Chloe replied. "We were recognized, and that actually surprised most of the people. They believed that we Guardians were only out on the frontier because that's where we were needed. They asked me, 'if the Guardians are on Haven, who was keeping the Tammerain from invading?'." Chloe paused and smiled sadly. "They believed we are the only reason the Tammerain hadn't yet invaded them. The other side of that was that, if what happened at Haven was bad enough for the Guardians to respond, then it had to have been very dire. The survivors believe that because we were there, they survived." She looked up into John's eyes. "John, the people of the planet believe that because we came, they survived. Not that the fleet had come, but that we had come."

John shook his head slowly. "That's wrong, too. It was the fleet that saved them, yes, we helped, but four old soldiers do not decide battles."

"Actually, they do, John," Mark replied. "You are icons for our people. Just your appearance on a field of battle inspires them. If our people see you fighting for them, they know there is hope. Yes, there are only five of you remaining, but you are going to be adding to that number. Yes, it might take a while for the new Guardians to build the reputation you have, but the simple fact that you have selected these people to be guardians tells our people that you believe in the future, and you are planning for it."

"Mark, what happens when we fall? With what we are facing, there is a far better than normal chance none of us are going to survive. What you’re saying is that when we fall in battle, the rest of our forces are going to lose heart and crumble. There's nothing special about us. We are just jacked up Marines that are too stupid or stubborn to die. We have no special abilities, but because of our age we get the best toys to play with. The way things are right now, what will happen when we die?"  John asked.

"The people honestly believe you won't, some believe you can't," Mark replied. "If this is bothering you that much, then talk to the people, tell them about your fears, tell them why you are still here, and why you still fight for them. It certainly can't hurt anything, and maybe it'll give them the strength they'll need if you do fall in battle."

"How am I supposed to do that?" John asked.

"The Palace has its own studio, use that," Mark suggested. "Who knows, maybe it'll help improve recruiting. Gods know we could use the boost there."

"I'll think about it, Mark," John replied. As he and Chloe left the shower room, they found Mark's hologram sitting on the edge of their bunk. He stood as the pair proceeded to get dressed in duty uniforms. "Will did a good job with our defenses, but I see what you mean about him. He's only going through the motions." Mark said sadly. "As soon as the Flyer gets out of dry dock, I'll make sure you have a couple of weeks for him. I just wish I could go with you. Other than you, John, Will helped me the most. I can remember times when he physically held me back from charging in and getting killed." Mark smiled, sadly. "He'd grab the back of my armor by the helmet seal, and pull me back. He'd tell me something like 'bad puppy!' or 'Puppies shouldn't play with wild animals all by themselves.' At the time I wanted to slap the hell out of him, but somewhere in the jumbled mess of my mind, I knew that, in his own way, he was just trying to keep me alive."

John nodded to Mark. "That was when Holly was still with us."

Mark nodded. "I know I approved his retirement request, but I had hoped that maybe we could get him to snap out of it. Now that I've been around him again, I understand what the rest of you meant."

"You ordered us to return, may I ask why?" John asked.

"It might seem specious, but Mary is due to arrive soon, and I wanted you both here to greet her. I also think you four need a break before getting involved in what's coming. Besides, it's just nice having you guys around again," Mark said, "Even if it is temporary."

––––––––

T
he reunion at the Palace landing area was more than John or Chloe had expected. Mary literally jumped on him with a hug and a passionate kiss. When she finished with him, she did the same thing to Chloe, which made Chloe very happy, and embarrassed her at the same time. Not to be outdone, Gloria ran to Mark and planted a lip lock on him that would have the gossip columns speculating for weeks, and had the guards grinning.

"I guess she's really glad to see us, John," Chloe said. Gloria and the King were still kissing. Beside them, her parents were starting to look a little uncomfortable, kneeling on the landing apron.

John grinned. "Naw, I don't think she missed me at all, she kissed you longer!"

"So why did she kiss you first then?" Chloe replied, also grinning.

"Oh stop it, both of you!" She turned to her friend. "Gloria, if you don't stop kissing him, he won't be able to let your parents stand back up!" Mary moved back over to the Saints, and knelt with them, to greet her King.

Mark opened his eyes and waved them back to their feet behind Gloria's back. The trio stood, but still had to wait for Gloria to break the kiss. John and Chloe moved over to the Saints and shook hands welcoming them to the Capitol.

"How was the flight, Baily?" John asked.

"Pretty comfortable, actually. For a courier, she's a really comfortable ship," Bailey replied.

"Mark told me she was built with the same frame as our ship, only without all the stuff we need, like weapons," Chloe added as she kissed Lisa on the cheek.

"Then I'm sure the
Flyer
is a good ship," Bailey replied. Lisa seemed to be a little tongue tied and she was staring at her surroundings like she didn't believe she was there.

"Lisa, are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"I just can't believe I'm standing here! I never thought I'd ever even see a core world, and here I am, about to enter the Palace of the King himself as a guest." She paused a moment. "It's just so unbelievable!"

John chuckled. "Well, not so much if you stop to look at these two!" he hiked his thumb to the still kissing pair.

"Yeah, she didn't even bow first," Bailey said flatly.

"I did send for a bucket of cold water, Sir," one of the guards replied with an utterly straight face.

"Good thinking Corporal, I fear we may need it before they do something more embarrassing," Bailey replied.

"I think it's safe to say this is as embarrassing as they'll get. I'm sure His Majesty would never harm her; especially like that," Mary replied.

"No, he never would, which is why this relationship is so puzzling to me," Bailey replied. "I don't object to it at all, but I do worry for them. What kind of future will they have?"

"I can't answer that Bailey, but I can tell you that the issue is being worked on," Mary replied.

The guards stiffened and became more alert as an air car entered the landing area and headed for them. The Corporal that spoke whispered to Mark while the rest of the guards surrounded the mostly oblivious pair with their armored bodies. John motioned Mary to stay put, and accepted the side arms the Royal Guards handed him for himself and Gloria, while he and Chloe began walking toward the approaching vehicle. As she watched, both Guardians activated their enhancements, making them look like professional body builders. John actually grew a couple of inches.

"There! That's what Marines are
supposed
to look like! John never told me why he didn't," Lisa replied.